Zhu vs. Shinkawa

So, since my "inspiring designer" was Feng Zhu, I thought it was only appropriate to compare him with another concept artist - in this case Yoji Shinkawa. I was exposed through Yoji's work through Metal Gear Solid, a game for the orginal Playstation.

As stylized as Zhu's work is, Shinkawa's is that much more. He often leaves work at the sketch phase, only sometimes adding small bits of color and shading that do more to pop the image than actually show form. Drawing with a brush pen, his lines vary dramtically, at times splitting in two. His characters appear to move through the page.

This method is incredibly effective for concept work in the video game market as so much depends on visual style. It is not very effective, however, for communincating finalized designs. Even his model sheets are sparse on detail. I give a lot of credit to Konami's 3D modelers and animators for bringing Yoji's designs to life. He doesn't give them a ton to work with, but I guess it works. While his style is not particularly helpful with my professional work (at least not more than rembering to give my sketches as much life as possible), I have to say I could look at his images all day. They are simply gorgeous.